Ring assembly for spinning and twisting frames

ABSTRACT

A ring spinner in which a traveller slides along the inner periphery of a plastic ring. The ring is carried by a metallic body which has a lower annular surface portion also slidably engaged by the rotating traveller. The metallic body has an inner peripheral region where the plastic ring is located to be supported by the metallic body, and at this inner peripheral region the metallic body is formed with a circumferential cavity communicating with a source of lubrication. The metallic body is also formed with a plurality of ducts communicating with this circumferential cavity and leading therefrom to an exterior surface of the metallic body, so that part of the lubricant will discharge onto the latter exterior surface to form a film which will lubricate the contact between the traveller and the lower annular surface of the metallic body.

United States Patent Jiiger et al. [4 1 May 2, 1972 [54] RING ASSEMBLY FOR SPINNING AND 3,447,304 6/1969 Nuessli ..s7/12o TWISTING FRAMES FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS [72] Inventors: Karel Jiger; Jaroslava Schlotzka; Zdenek Kobr, all of Liberec, Czechoslovakia [73] Assignee: Statni vyrkumny ustav textilni, Liberec,

Czechoslovakia [22] Filed: July 16, 1969 [211 App]. No.2 842,323

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 1, i968 Czechoslovakia ..5586-68 52 us. Cl ..s7 120 [51] Int. Cl. ..D0lh 7/62 [58] Field Search... ..57/1 19, 120

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,448,150 8/1948 Mulholland ..57/1 19 3,056,250 10/1962 Backus ..57/ll9 1,106,967 3/l968 Great Britain ..57/ l 20 Primary ExaminerJohn Petrakes Attorney-Arthur O. Klein [57] ABSTRACT A ring spinner in which a traveller slides along the inner periphery of a plastic ring. The ring is carried by a metallic body which'has a lower annular surface portion also slidably engaged by the rotating traveller. The metallic body has an inner peripheral region where the plastic ring is located to be supported by the metallic body, and at this inner peripheral region the metallic body is formed with a circumferential cavity communicating with a source of lubrication. The metallic body is also formed with a plurality of ducts communicating with this circumferential cavity and leading therefrom to an exterior surface of the metallic body, so that part of the lubricant will discharge onto the latter exterior surface to form a film which will lubricate the contact between the traveller and the lower annular surface of the metallic body.

8 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMAY 2 I972 K fi v lluvsu'rons:

OTZ 1:25.? 12% 0. ATTORNEY Karel JAG E R RING ASSEMBLY FOR SPINNING AND TWISTING FRAMES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the spinning of yarn.

In particular, the present invention relates to the spinning of yarn on ring spinners where the yarn is twisted while the bobbin rotates with 'the yarn being displaced along an annular ring by a traveller which moves around and slides along this ring.

The invention relates in particular to a ring spinner of this type where the ring is made of a plastic, such as a synthetic polymer, while the body which supports the ring is made of metal.

In order to avoid any possible damage to the plastic ring, particularly at its edges when the traveller is assembled with the ring, it is essential that the ring does not extend beyond the confines or outer limiting edges of the metallic body which carries the ring. The inner peripheral surface of the ring forms the primary contact surface for the traveller which slides on the synthetic polymer material of the ring. This material has excellent sliding properties for the traveller.

However, while the traveller slides in a highly advantageous manner along the inner periphery of such a ring made of a plastic such as a synthetic polymer material, the traveller also slides along a lower annular surface portion of the metallic supporting body which carries the ring, and at this location there is a secondary annular area of sliding contact where metal slides on metal because both the supporting body for the ring and the traveller itself are made of metal. Thus, at this secondary area of sliding contact for the traveller there is friction between metal rubbing on metal.

A satisfactory lubrication for ring spinners of this type has not yet been satisfactorily achieved. Because of the wellknown self-lubricating properties of the synthetic polymer which is used for the ring, conventional methods of applying the lubricant to the primary contact surface between the ring and traveller become superfluous. Moreover, even if a lubricant were applied to the primary contact surface, capillary action would cause the lubricant to cover only the primary surface contact between the ring and traveller, and the lubricant would not reach the secondary surface where sliding contact takes place between the metallic supporting body and the traveller, so that this secondary traveller and metallic body contact surface would not be lubricated. As a result, the friction between the metallic traveller and the metallic surface of the supporting body results in an excessive heating of the traveller, causing a premature wearing away of the latter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide a construction which will avoid these drawbacks.

In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a ring-spinner of the above general type which at the same time will properly lubricate the secondary area of sliding contact between the traveller and the metallic ring-supporting body.

In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide an exceedingly simple construction which will enable lubricant to be distributed by gravity and capillary action to the lower region of the metallic ring-supporting body so that the secondary friction surfaces where metal-to-metal contact takes place are reliably lubricated irrespective of the precise location where this metal-to-metal contact takes place in the general lower region of the metallic ring-supporting body.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a construction which will reliably prevent any of the lubricant from being spattered on the cop, so that the ring spinner of the invention may be used for spinning both wool and cotton. Soiling of the cotton with spattered oil is, as is well known, particularly undesirable with respect to subsequent processing of the yarn, and this disadvantage is avoided with the structure of the invention which prevents spattering of oil.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a construction which will have passages through which lubricant flows without, however, undesirably weakening the structure by reason of the inclusion of such passages therein.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a construction which enables a wick in a lubricating cavity of the metallic body to be inserted into the latter cavity after the ring is mounted on a part of the metallic body, so that undesirable displacement of the wick, which frequently takes place when the ring is mounted after the wick is located in the cavity, can be avoided.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a construction which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture while at the same time having a long operating life during which parts may be easily assembled and disassembled with the replacement of a worn ring being very easy to carry out.

According to the invention the plastic ring has an inner peripheral surface slidably engaged by the rotary traveller. This plastic ring is carried by a metallic body at an inner peripheral region of the latter. This inner peripheral region of the metallic body is formed with a circumferential cavity which communicates with a source of lubricant. Also, in accordance with the invention, the metallic body is formed with a plurality of ducts communicating with this cavity and discharging onto an exterior surface of the metallic body so that a film of lubricant will become located at this exterior surface of the metallic body. As was indicated above, the traveller slidably engages a lower annular surface portion of the metallic body, and the lubricant which discharges onto the exterior surface of the metallic body forms a film lubricating the secondary area of contact between the traveller and the lower annular surface of the metallic supporting body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. I, the ring spinner illustrated therein includes a metallic body I which has an inner annular region where the metallic body 1 carries the plastic ring 2 which is made of a plastic such as a synthetic polymer material. In the embodiment of FIG. 1 the metallic ring-supporting body I is made of one piece of metal, whereas in the embodiment of FIG. 2 the ring-supporting body is made of lupper part I a and a lower part lb. This lower part lb of FIG. 2 is formed with the stepped inner peripheral region 3 providing the upwardly directed shoulder which receives the lower outer peripheral region of the ring 2 so as to support the latter. The upper part 1a extends over the top surface of the ring 2, in the embodiment of FIG. 2, and the body parts la and lb are held together by screws 4. It will be noted that with the one-piece body embodiment of FIG. 1 the ring 2 also is mounted on an upwardly directed shoulder forming part of the stepped inner peripheral region 3 of the body 1.

A traveller 5 slides in a well-known manner along the inner peripheral surface of the ring 2, being pressed against this inner surface by centrifugal force during operation of the spinner. Thus, the contact surface 6, shown by a heavy line in FIGS. 1 and 2, forms the primary area of sliding for the traveller 5 where the traveller 5 engages the inner peripheral surface of the ring 2 which has excellent sliding properties. as pointed out above.

metal sliding takes place.

The inner peripheral region of the metallic supporting body of both embodiments is formed with a circumferential cavity 8 which surrounds the ring 2 and which communicates through a pasage 9 with a lubricant supply which is not illustrated. In

addition, according to a particular feature of the invention, the metallic supporting body of both embodiments is formed with a plurality of ducts 10 communicating with the lower portion of the cavity 8 and leading therefrom to the exterior surface of the metallic supporting body. It will be noted that this exterior surface onto which the ducts l discharge is of a frustoconical configuration situated outwardly beyond and extending upwardly from the secondary area of contact 7 between the traveller and the ring-supporting body. The

axes of the ducts form elements of a cone whose apex is situated in the central vertical axis of the ring spinner.

The cavity 8 isfilled with a woolen wick 11 which is loosely coiled in the cavity 8 and extends out through the passage 9.

Felt blocks or pads 12 fill up the ducts 10.

The lubricant flows out through the ducts 10 to reach the exterior lower frustoconical outer surface portion of the metallic ring-supporting body, and due to gravity and capillary action a film of lubricant covers not only the exterior outer frustoconical surface of the metallic ring-supporting body but also the lower annular surface region 7, and the inner surface situated inwardly of and extending upwardly from this lower annular surface 7 is also lubricated with the film of lubricant as the result of capillary action. Thus, the secondary surface area 7 is very effectively lubricated and the lubricant will very reliably become situated at the particular location of the secondary surface 7 irrespective of any changes in this location due to wearing of the parts.

In order to assemble the embodiment of FIG. 1 the wick 11 is first coiled into the circumferential cavity 8 of the metallic body 1. Then the ring 2 is inserted into the body 1, so as to enclose the wick within the cavity 8.

However, accordingto the embodiment of FIG. 2, before the upper body part la is joined to the lower body part lb, the

' ring 2 is first mounted on the lower body part 1b and then the wick 11 is coiled into the circumferential cavity 8 which is still accessible because the top of the cavity has not yet been covered by the upper body part la. After the wick 11 has thus been assembled, subsequent to assembly of the plastic ring 2 with the body part lb, the top body part la is fastened to the lower body part lb by the screws 4.

It is to be noted that the supply of the lubricant onto the exterior outer frustoconical surface of the metallic ring-supporting body prevents the lubricant from being spattered onto the cop, so that the ring assembly may be reliably used for spinning both wool and cotton without any danger of soiling the yarn to undesirably afiect the subsequent processing thereof.

Furthermore, it is to be noted that the directing of the ducts 10 outwardly toward the outer frustoconical surface of the metallic body does not weaken the latter, as would be the case if these ducts were directed inwardly. This latter type of construction would result in undesirable thinning of the metallic ring-supporting body with a consequent reduction in the strength thereof.

It is furthermore to be noted that the situation of the outer or discharge ends of the ducts 10 above the secondary contact surface 7 eliminates any possibility of contact between the traveller and the edges of the ducts 10. In this way a superior lubricating efi'ect is also achieved. As indicated above, the spreading of the lubricant at the exterior outer surface of the body does not exclude the spreading of the lubricant over the inner surface of the b'ogy due to capillary action. Thus, even when the contacting s aces become worn, lubrication of the sliding contact will still be reliably achieved.

The embodiment of FIG. 2 according to which the metallic ring-supporting body is composed of a pair of parts is of particular advantage since it makes the assembly much easier, particularly with respect to the lubricating wick 11. With the embodiment of FIG. 2 the lubricating wick is prevented from being undesirably displaced or carried away when the ring is assembled with the supporting body. It will be noted that with the embodiment of FIG. 1 where the ring 2 is necessarily assembled with the body 1 after the wick 11 has been coiled into the cavity 8 it is possible for the ring to engage the wick and undesirably displace it. In contrast, with the two-part body of FIG. 2 it is possible to first assemble the ring 2 with the lower body part lb and then to introduce the wick into the cavity 8 so that this particular embodiment of FIG. 2 is of considerable advantage not only from a manufacturing standpoint but also from the standpoint of the assembly of the parts. Moreover with this embodiment-it becomes much easier to replace a worn ring.

What is claimed is:

l. A spinning ring assembly comprising a spinning ring and a traveller which travels thereabout, a plastic ring having an inner surface along which the traveller slides, and a metallic body having an inner peripheral region carrying said plastic ring, said inner peripheral region of said metallic body being formed with a circumferential cavity communicating with a lubricant supply, and said metallic body being formed with a plurality of ducts communicating with said cavity and leading therefrom to an exterior surface of said metallic body.

2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said metallic body has a lower annular surface situated at an elevation lower than said ring and also slidably engaged by the traveller,

said ducts discharging onto a lower outer surface region of said metallic body above said annular surface of contact will become situated between said traveller and said lower annular surface of said body engaged by said traveller.

3. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said body has an outer frustoconical surface portion situated outwardly beyond and extending upwardly from said lower annular surface which is slidably engaged by said traveller and said ducts discharging onto said frustoconical exterior surface portion of said body.

4. The combination of claim I and wherein said, body is made in one piece.

5. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said body is composed of two parts which are fastened together.

6. The combination of claim 5 and wherein at least one of said parts is fonned with a ring-supporting portion which receives and supports said ring.

7. The combination of claim 6 and wherein said ring-sup porting portion is situated at said lower part of said body and is in the form of an inner annular shoulder having an upwardly directed surface on which said ring rests.

8. The combination of claim 1 and wherein a wick is situated in said cavity and felt fills said ducts. 

1. A spinning ring assembly comprising a spinning ring and a traveller which travels thereabout, a plastic ring having an inner surface along which the traveller slides, and a metallic body having an inner peripheral region carrying said plastic ring, said inner peripheral region of said metallic body being formed with a circumferential cavity communicating with a lubricant supply, and said metallic body being formed with a plurality of ducts communicating with said cavity and leading therefrom to an exterior surface of said metallic body.
 2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said metallic body has a lower annular surface situated at an elevation lower than said ring and also slidably engaged by the traveller, said ducts discharging onto a lower outer surface region of said metallic body above said annular surface of contact between the said body and traveller so that a film of lubricant will become situated between said traveller and said lower annular surface of said body engaged by said traveller.
 3. The combination of claim 2 and wherein saId body has an outer frustoconical surface portion situated outwardly beyond and extending upwardly from said lower annular surface which is slidably engaged by said traveller and said ducts discharging onto said frustoconical exterior surface portion of said body.
 4. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said body is made in one piece.
 5. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said body is composed of two parts which are fastened together.
 6. The combination of claim 5 and wherein at least one of said parts is formed with a ring-supporting portion which receives and supports said ring.
 7. The combination of claim 6 and wherein said ring-supporting portion is situated at said lower part of said body and is in the form of an inner annular shoulder having an upwardly directed surface on which said ring rests.
 8. The combination of claim 1 and wherein a wick is situated in said cavity and felt fills said ducts. 